Support is requested for the "Fourth International Meeting on Ciliate Molecular Biology", to be held in Asilomar, California from June 19-23, 1991. This is the fourth international meeting of ciliate biologists in the last ten years, and is intended to bring together researchers who are using molecular techniques to investigate an assortment of biological problems using ciliated protozoa as a model system. The field of ciliate biology has greatly expanded over the last decade, primarily due to the advent of molecular techniques that have allowed many of the advantages of ciliated protozoa to be utilized. This is best seen in the recent advances in the fields of self-splicing RNA, the extensive DNA rearrangements of the genome, teleomere structure and function, and behavioral mutants that have been used to study calmodulin. The meeting will hold both platform and poster sessions which will be used to explore a whole range of interesting and relevant biological topics. These sessions will provide a means of rapidly disseminating unpublished research and ideas, and will furnish an opportunity for workers in this field to meet and plan future areas of investigation. Approximately 140 foreign and domestic scientists will be in attendance at this conference. The participants will be selected on the basis of the quality of their work and how it will enhance the meeting. All areas of ciliate molecular biology will be represented at this conference. Furthermore, the participation of both senior and young investigators will be encouraged, so as to have a well-balanced group of people who can maintain the vitality of the field.